Ways to learn phones and computers

There is more than one good way to get comfortable with technology, and the best one depends on the person. Here is what each is genuinely good at, where it is harder, and when something other than Lantern would suit you better.

Asking family or a friend

Good at

• Nothing replaces a patient person sitting beside you, on your own device.
• They know you, and they can fix something there and then.

Harder

• They are not always nearby or free, and some questions feel too small to keep asking.
• When they are in a hurry, it is easy for them to do it for you rather than show you.

Cost: Free

YouTube videos

Good at

• Free, and there is a video on almost everything.
• You can pause, rewind and watch again as often as you like.

Harder

• A video shows somebody else’s device, which may look different from yours.
• You cannot ask it a question, and videos move at the speed of the person who made them, with advertisements in between.

Cost: Free, with advertisements

AI chat assistants

Good at

• You can ask anything, in your own words, at any hour.
• Often helpful for a quick explanation.

Harder

• They can state something wrong with complete confidence, including telephone numbers and steps that do not exist. The leading ones say so under their own reply box.
• They tell you; they do not let you practice.

Cost: Free and paid versions

Classes: libraries, senior centers and online groups

Good at

• A real teacher and other learners. Many public libraries and senior centers run free classes or drop-in help.
• Senior Planet from AARP runs free live classes online in English, Spanish and Chinese, and in person at its centers and partner sites. GetSetUp runs live online classes for older adults, with free community classes and paid memberships.

Harder

• Classes happen at set times, and a group moves at the group’s pace.
• Getting to a class, or onto a video call, can be the hard part.

Cost: Often free; some have paid options

Paid tech support

Good at

• Somebody fixes the problem, at a store or at home.

Harder

• It fixes today’s problem; it is not usually there to teach you, so the next one means another visit.

Cost: Paid per visit or by plan

Lantern

Good at

• Short lessons at your own pace, whenever suits you, with no time limit.
• You press the buttons yourself on a practice copy of the screen, so nothing on your own device can go wrong.
• A whole course on scams, and a free checker for a message you are unsure about.
• “Where am I?” on every learning screen, and Ask Lantern for a question in your own words. Ask Lantern uses an AI model too, but it answers from Lantern’s own lessons and points you to the lesson that teaches it.

Harder

• It is not a person beside you. Practice screens teach the steps; your own device may use different colors, positions or button names.
• After the first free lesson, it is a paid plan.

Lantern is likely to suit you if

• You would rather learn alone, at your own pace, without anybody watching.
• You want to practice somewhere nothing can go wrong before trying it for real.
• Scams worry you, and you would like to feel sure rather than suspicious of everything.
• The person who usually helps you is far away or busy.

Something else may suit you better if

• You learn best with a person in the room. A class at a library or senior center, or a patient relative, will serve you better.
• You only need one thing fixed today. Somebody who can fix it, or one good video, is quicker.
• Cost is the deciding thing. The free options above are genuinely good, and Lantern’s free guides and checker cost nothing either.